Kalam the Newspaper Boy

This is a true story. Many years ago, a boy named Abdul Kalam lived in Rameswaram. It is a small island town in the south of India. The sea is all around it.

His family did not have much money. But their home was full of love. Young Kalam wanted to help his family. So he took a job. He would give out newspapers to people's homes.

Every day, he woke up before the sun. The sky was still dark and quiet. The town was asleep. The sea breeze was cool on his face. He could hear the waves, soft and steady. Shhh... shhh...

He picked up his bundle of newspapers. Then he set off through the sleepy streets.

One paper, one door, one step at a time.

He went from street to street. He left a paper at house after house. Slowly, the sky turned from dark blue to soft pink. The town began to wake up. Doors opened. People came out to read the news.

One paper, one door, one step at a time.

When the newspapers were all given out, Kalam went to school. He loved to learn. He studied hard.

There was something else young Kalam loved. He loved to watch the birds.

By the sea, birds flew high above the waves. They spread their wings wide. They floated on the wind, up and down, so easily. Kalam watched them with wonder. He wondered how they could fly.

And a dream began to grow inside him. A dream of flying.

The boy grew up. He kept working hard, and he kept dreaming. He studied how planes fly. He became a scientist. He helped India build rockets. They rose high into the sky, all the way to space.

And one day, the newspaper boy from Rameswaram became the President of India.

Children all over the country loved him. He loved them too. He often asked them to dream big, and to work hard for their dreams.

It all began with small steps. It began on quiet mornings by the sea. It began with a bundle of newspapers and a sky full of birds.

One paper, one door, one step at a time.

Today, when birds fly over the sea at Rameswaram, the waves still sing. Shhh... shhh... And the morning sky still turns soft and pink. It is the same sky that once watched a boy with a big dream.